Pick up your candle order at the vineyard.

We do not stock every candle we make at our small sales stand. You may want to email us with an order and we will have it ready when you arrive at the vineyard on the weekends.
Go to our candle search page to make a selection....

10 reasons to choose beeswax instead of paraffin!

1. Beeswax candles contain none of the harmful chemicals sometimes found in paraffin candles.
2. Beeswax candles burn significantly longer than paraffin candles. The rest of the story....

Harvest - 2007

We had some late frosts in May this spring. It did some damage to some of the varieties but they seem to have recovered and we have a lot of grapes available this fall. More....

Harvest is now upon us and we are opening August 31 and will be open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays only from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (NO MON-TUES-WED-THURS)   
More information.....
Click here for our latest Picking Update....

If you did not receive your emailed picking update and would like to receive them (there is about 4 or 5 of them), click on the "Update Your Profile" link at the bottom of this newsletter.

Every week during September we hold a drawing and someone wins a bushel of grapes. Check the updates for your name.

The vineyard portion of our website has been improved and remodeled.

Every grape variety has a separate page with info on its uses, location, wine & jelly instructions, history and a lot more. We even have a digital tour of the farm.

Visit our new Vineyard Web Page.........

Take a tour of the vineyard.

We have a digital tour of the vineyard now on line. It will walk you through as if you are a typical customer - From our entrance sign to the vineyard, honeyfarm and candleshop. Click here for the tour.....

Pappa Joes - Rochester Michigan

Jim Lemire, one of our contibuting writers, and his wife Denise recently met Pat and I at Papa Joes Market in Rochester. The purpose of the trip was to exchange a few bottles of wine and have dinner and good conversation.

Papa Joes Market has moved and been remodeled and we were very impressed with the wine tasting system they have. You pre pay a "Pappa Joes" card and you can wander around the store with a glass of wine purchased from various self serve tasting areas. You can purchase and taste small amounts (2oz or so) of some more expensive wines.

I rarely drink $50 or more bottles of wine so this was very interesting. I tried a wonderful red wine (about $40 bottle) and then another more expensive one that was NOT AS GOOD.

It was an experience!

How is our vineyard different than others?

I do not know any other vineyard that has more than 20 varieties of grapes and sells 100% U-PICK! Since we are not a winery we do not keep the premium grapes for ourselves and sell what is left to local customers. The story.......

Honey Harvest 2007

The honeybee colony loss we had over last winter was one of the largest we have had. This was typical of many beekeepers in the US over the last 2-3 years. We now are running only 1/3 the number of colonies that we normally do. The story.......

The Honey Farm opens Friday, August 31 - Bring your pails & buckets - Details.....

About the Honey Industry

HOBBYISTS AND PART-TIME BEEKEEPERS - The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates there are between 139,600 and 212,000 beekeepers in the United States. The vast majority (95 percent) are hobbyists with fewer than 25 hives and about 4 percent are part-timers who keep from 25 to 299 hives.

COMMERCIAL BEEKEEPERS - Commercial beekeepers are those with 300 or more bee colonies. There are approximately 1,600 commercial beekeeping operations in the United States, which produce about 60 percent of the nation’s honey. The rest of the story....

Why does the honey from the sales stand vary from year to year.

The honeybees make honey from the nectar of the flowers that bloom over the summer, and this is influenced greatly by the weather - dry, wet, etc.

Some years the honey is darker or lighter than other years - the beekeeper does always not have a lot of control in this.   The story.....

This 16 inch tall x 14 inch wide leaded glass grape suncatcher is shown hanging in our window. This is the first time we have anything this large on our site.
Details ....

We also have a Beehive Skep available for $14.00:

More Info & to order .....

We will have additional leaded glass items in the future, all with a Vineyard, Honey or Candle theme. If you have an idea for one, let us know and we can make it.

Our Golden Honey Soap was very popular at the vineyard last year.

Along with our Unscented Golden Honey soap, our Honey Almond Oatmeal, our Lavender (with soothing Lavender essential oils), and our Sweet Muscato, a fragrance popular with winemakers - We have added a new Hyacinth scented Honeycomb Complexion Bar. This is soap with real comb honey imbedded in the center.

This is a section for comments/questions/recipes from our readers.

Please read the comments & feel free to put your 2 cents worth in.

Send me your comments/questions/recipes!

Congratulations!

Harvest candle winner: william.d.eastman@hitchcock

Will this months w*nner,
william.d.eastman@hitchcock please contact us and send your address so that I can ship your pair of candles.

Our list of previous candle w*nners.

Click below for something silly to end this newsletter with.

See You Next Issue!